Kilkenny Masters 1993

Jack Lowry invited Spassky to become honorary president of our club. The world champion asked what it involved. When told nothing other than lending his name, he smiled. On 6 April 1991 he sent a letter to Jack saying simply 'I have always wanted to be an honorary president'. The letter, somewhat faded now, and a photograph hang in an alcove in the Club House Hotel. In December the club received Christmas greetings from Spassky in which he declared 1992 to be the year of the gambit. He wanted us to experiment, to imagine, to be playful and enjoy the game.

Ad astra. The boost given by Spassky's visit made us want to reach for the stars. It is one thing to be ambitious, another to be able to deliver. Quo vadis? What way?

In 1993 there was only one Irish IM, Mark Orr, who lived in Scotland. There were five Irish national masters, two of whom, Eamon Keogh and Philip Short played regularly at Kilkenny. It was enough for Jack to suggest that we should upgrade the Open into a Masters' Tournament. As chance would have it, WIM Rita Zimmerman moved to Ireland with her partner, the English champion IM Michael Hennigan. In addition, with the encouragement of Eamon Keogh, IM Alexander Baburin took up residence in Dublin. Suddenly a masters' tournament became a reality.

I played Rita Zimmerman on one occasion. I was on the wrong side of a Benoni. She exploited a small weakness in my position. She pounded it again and again until eventually it collapsed. She always dressed elegantly, usually in black. Banter. When asked afterwards why I had lost, I said (forgive me Rita, if forgiveness is needed) I had lost to the fork, the pin and the skewer but this was the first time I had lost to the cleavage. This was just a phrase, she outplayed me completely.

1993: 17th Kilkenny Chess Congress
Date: 26-28 November 1993
Venue: Club House Hotel
Sponsors: Kilkenny People, Smithwick's Brewery
Tournament director: Jack Lowry
Tournament controllers: Michael Crowe, Tom O'Sullivan

Open (2000+)

1: IM Alexander Baburin, 5.5/6

2-3: Mark Quinn, Philip Short, 5

4: Niall Carton, 4.5

5= IM Michael Hennigan, etc., 4

37 players

Major (1550-1999)

1: Pierse Dunne

2-6: Paul Kiely, W. Rae, P.J. Rae, M. Delaney, P. Carey.

Over 60 players

Junior (below 1550)

1: Kieran O'Driscoll, 6/6

Kilkenny Masters 2000

24th Kilkenny Chess Congress

Norkom European Masters

Venue: Club House Hotel, Butler House, Kilkenny Castle

Sponsor: Norkom Technologies

Tournament director: Jack Lowry

Masters

1. GM Luke McShane (ENG), 5/6

2-5. GM Alexander Baburin, GM Eduard Rozentalis (LTU), IM Mark Quinn, IM Robert Bellin (ENG), 4.5

6-8. IM Malcolm Pein (ENG), IM John Shaw (SCO), David Howell (ENG), 4

9-14. IM Slim Belkhodja (FRA), FM Philip Short, Gerard O'Connell, Peter Cafolla, FM Yuri Rochev (RUS), Anthony Fox, 3.5

15-19. NM Paul Delaney, NM Eamon Keogh, John Anderson (ENG), Colin Harpur, Michael Dooley, 3

20-5. FM Stephen Brady, Daire McMahon, Richard O'Donovan, WGM Jana Bellin (ENG), Mel Ó Cinnéide, John Kennedy, 2.5

26-31. Michael Neville, Elke Sautter, Paul Dempsey, Ander Gomez, Killian Hynes, Jack Killane, 2

32-3. Gerard McElligott, Ivan Llorens, 1.5

34. Suzanne Connolly, 1

Kilkenny Masters 2001

25th Kilkenny Congress

Norkom International Masters

Date: 30 November--2 December 2001

Venues: Kilkenny Castle, Butler House & Club House Hotel

Sponsor: Norkom Technologies

Tournament director: Jack Lowry

Masters

1-2. GM Ian Rogers (AUS, winner on tiebreak), GM Luke McShane (ENG), 5.5/6

3-4. GM Mark Hebden (ENG), IM Mark Heidenfeld, 5

5-10. GM Alexander Baburin, GM Jonathan Rowson (SCO), IM Danny Gormally (ENG), FM Philip Short, Paul Dempsey, Peter Gayson (ENG), 4

11-17. IM Mark Quinn, IM Miroslav Houska (ENG), John Anderson (ENG), David Howell (ENG), Michael Dooley, John Henderson, Eddie O'Connor, 3

18-25. Andrew Kitschlew, IM Mark Orr, Gerard O'Connell, Jim McCarthy, Anthony Fox, Mel Ó Cinnéide, Elke Sauter, Ian Sutton, 2.5

26-9. Eric Bennett, Eamon Keogh, Ivan Llorens, Simon Jeffares, 2

30-1. Gordon Freeman, Suzanne Connolly, 1.5

32. Jack Killane, 1

Kilkenny Masters 2002

26th Kilkenny Chess Congress

Venue: Butler House & Club House Hotel

Tournament director: Jack Lowry

Masters

1. GM Alexander Baburin, 5/6

2-6. GM Luke McShane (ENG), GM Bogdan Lalic (ENG), FM Yuri Rochev (RUS), Sam Collins, Alex Lopez, 4.5

7-9. IM Brian Kelly, GM Colin McNab (SCO), FM Leighton Williams (WLS), 4

10-13. IM Mark Quinn, John Anderson (ENG), IM Mark Heidenfeld, FM Philip Short, 3.5

14-19. José Delgado (ESP), IM Mark Orr, Mel Ó Cinnéide, Charles Cobb (ENG), FM Joerg Weidemann (GER), Paul Dempsey, 3

20-9. Eamon Keogh, FM David Howell (ENG), Gerry O'Connell, Anthony Fox, Darko Polimac, Richard S. Jones (WLS), Thomas Hauptmann (NED), Kees de Kruif (NED), Karl McPhillips, Simon Jeffares, 2.5

30-2. Brian Fitzpatrick, Malcolm J. Armstrong, Ian Sutton, 2

33-5. Peter Cafolla, Casey Collins (USA), Gerry McElligott, 1.5

36. John Trevelyan

Major (1600-1999)

1. Richard O'Donovan

James Mason (1200-1599)

1. Peter Carden

Challengers (below 1199)

1. Jonathan Wyse

Kilkenny Masters 2003

27th Kilkenny Congress

Date: 28-30 November 2003

Venue: Butler House & Club House Hotel

Tournament director: Jack Lowry

Masters

1. GM Michael Adams (ENG), 5/6

2-3. GM Bogdan Lalic (CRO), GM Alexander Baburin, 4.5

4-5. FM Yuri Rochev (RUS), GM Erald Deervishi (ALB), 4

6-11. GM Mark Hebden (ENG), IM Mark Quinn, IM Federico Manca (ITL), John Anderson (ENG), IM Mark Heidenfeld, Mel Ó Cinnéide, 3.5

12-18. Alex Lopez, IM Gavin Wall, FM Gert Schacher (GER), Killian Hynes, FM Peevee van Voorthuijsen (NED), Bram van Dijk (NED), Gerard O'Connell, 3

19-23. Martin G. Wessels, Kieran O'Driscoll, Paul Dempsey, Duncan Burbridge, Thomas Hauptmann (NED), 2.5

24. Eamon Keogh, 2

25-7. Karl McPhillips, Darko Polimac, Kees de Kruif (NED), 1.5

28. Jack Killane, 1

Kilkenny Masters 2004

28th Kilkenny Chess Congress

Date: 26-28 November 2004

Venue: Butler House & Club House Hotel

Tournament director: Jack Lowry

Masters

1-2. IM Rashid Ziatdinov, winner on tiebreak, GM Stuart Conquest (ENG), 5/6

3-4. GM Alexander Baburin, IM Gawain Jones (ENG), 4.5

5-7. GM Mark Hebden (ENG), FM Migchiel de Jong (NED), Christian Kongsted (DEN), 4

8-11. IM Sam Collins, IM Brian Kelly, IM Mark Orr, FM Philip Short, 3.5

12-17. Stephen Scannell, IM Mark Quinn, Bram van Dijk (NED), Karl McPhillips, Thomas Hauptmann (NED), FM Peevee van Voorthuijsen (NED), 3

18-24. Derek Smith, Stephen Jessel (FRA), Alex Lopez, Gerard O'Connell, Kieran O'Driscoll, NM Eamon Keogh, Anthony Fox, 2.5

25-7. Paul Walsh, Tom Clarke, Allan Beveridge, 2

28. Kees de Kruif (NED), 1.5

29. Suzanne Connolly, 1

30. Stefan Tomezack, 0

Since 2005 the Kilkenny Masters' results, with an always incisive commentary, have been posted on the ICU website by Gerry Graham.